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Manufacturing Compass

Rhode Island manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Rhode Island manufacturing in 2024

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Rhode Island combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

1,480

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
0.4%

Employment

39,858

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Total wages

$2.9 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.3%

Average weekly wage

$1,384

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.8%

Average annual pay

$71,956

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.8%

Location quotient

0.98

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Rhode Island is 0.98 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first. 5 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    8,082
    Establishments
    59
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,939
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.6%
    Location quotient
    1.43
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    4,181
    Establishments
    210
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,790
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.9%
    Location quotient
    0.91
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    3,897
    Establishments
    182
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,350
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.4%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    3,630
    Establishments
    201
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,424
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.7%
    Location quotient
    1.85
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    3,561
    Establishments
    95
    Avg. annual pay
    $97,396
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −36.5%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    2,516
    Establishments
    83
    Avg. annual pay
    $108,318
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.3%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,374
    Establishments
    50
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,708
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.9%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    1,944
    Establishments
    101
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,497
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −16.3%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    1,560
    Establishments
    108
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,327
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.8%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    1,215
    Establishments
    47
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,912
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.2%
    Location quotient
    1.03
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    1,082
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $59,809
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −26.8%
    Location quotient
    0.96
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    976
    Establishments
    58
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,733
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +20.9%
    Location quotient
    0.89
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    728
    Establishments
    46
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,888
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.5%
    Location quotient
    0.55
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    693
    Establishments
    54
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,357
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.6%
    Location quotient
    0.65
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    383
    Establishments
    28
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,202
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −1.9%
    Location quotient
    0.29
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    96
    Establishments
    12
    Avg. annual pay
    $39,728
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −31.4%
    Location quotient
    0.37
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    38
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    36
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    35
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    5
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed

03By year

Rhode Island manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Rhode Island by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202240,174$66,927−15.8%
202340,390$69,174−16.2%
202439,858$71,956−15.8%
202539,249$75,424−15.7%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology